March 5th

PA letter to ask Israel’s position on peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will send a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking Israel to state its position regarding restarting peace talks. The letter, which reportedly will be delivered to Netanyahu as soon as he returns from his visit to North America, will accuse Israel of harming the process by not fulfilling its obligations under current agreements and inform Israel what steps the Palestinian Authority requires of Israel in order to be willing to restart talks. » Read more

Palestinians Struggle to Put Their Food on Israeli Tables ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian farmers say they can’t penetrate the Israeli market because of reluctance by Israelis to buy products with a Palestinian brand. Israeli agriculture officials acknowledged the problem, but said they were trying to help by exposing Israelis to more Palestinian wares. Agriculture is a pillar of the Palestinian economy. While they export to the Arab world, the U.S. and Europe, Palestinians are trying to sell their “Product of Palestine” brands to in neighboring Israel, which is a big market and no more than hour’s truck drive away. » Read more

Americans still favor Israelis to Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Oren Kessler - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am Americans continue to view Israelis far more favorably than Palestinians, according to a poll released this weekend ahead of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US President Barack Obama. Seventy-one percent of Americans said they had positive views of Israel, compared with just 19% who said the same of the Palestinians, according to a Gallup poll conducted over the first week of February. Republicans were more likely to be well disposed toward Israel than independents or Democrats, with favorability ratings at 80, 71 and 65%, respectively. » Read more

Olmert to address J Street conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yuval Karni - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will appear before the J Street organization at the end of the month, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday. The liberal advocacy group is scheduled to hold its annual conference in Washington at the end of March. The event will be attended by some 2,500 Jewish leaders, senior government officials and congressmen. Olmert will be the guest of honor and the main speaker at the event. J Street is considered a left-wing Jewish lobby which aims to promote a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Palestinians to give Israelis deadline on talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - March 3, 2012 - 1:00am JERICHO, West Bank — Palestinian officials said Saturday they plan to give a deadline to Israel to accept ground rules for negotiations, and suggested that a 'no' will allow them to shelve Mideast talks until it does. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to spell out the requirements in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. He said he did not know by when Netanyahu would have to respond. » Read more

Israel's calculus on Iran: Shaped by leaders' youth in daring commando unit? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are two rivals turned partners who face a grave decision on whether or not to attack Iran against the counsel of Israel’s key ally, the United States. » Read more

U.S. Backers of Israel Pressure Obama Over Policy on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - March 3, 2012 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — On the eve of a crucial visit to the White House by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, that country’s most powerful American advocates are mounting an extraordinary public campaign to pressure President Obama into hardening American policy toward Iran over its nuclear program. » Read more

Israel Guards Against Increased Terror Peril From a Laxly Patrolled Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, David Kirkpatrick - March 2, 2012 - 1:00am NEGEV DESERT, Israel — For decades, the striking ridges and shady passes of the western Negev Desert along Israel’s border with Egypt were an alluring gateway to the pristine beaches of the Sinai Peninsula. Today, though, from the Israeli side at least, the jagged landscape of red-brown mountains seems to cast longer shadows and has grown more menacing. » Read more

Anger and Compassion for Arab Justice Who Stays Silent During Zionist Hymn ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — It was supposed to be a passing of the torch, yet another solemn state ceremony at the president’s residence in Jerusalem. But the retirement last week of Israel’s chief justice and the swearing in of her successor turned into a kind of Rorschach inkblot test about the nature of Israeli democracy. » Read more

March 2nd

Netanyahu and Obama play high-stakes poker over Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Washington will be the most important one in his long career as ambassador, politician and national leader. On Monday, Netanyahu will meet President Barack Obama in the White House for a game of diplomatic poker, where the greatest gamble of all will be right on the table: an attack on Iran's nuclear installations. Each of the two players will try to push the other to act. Netanyahu would prefer to see the American superpower, with its vast range of military capabilities, pulverize Iran's nuclear project. » Read more